Carney Dodges Quebec Secession Question

0:00It's March 31st. Welcome in. This is Canada News Today, where local news meets AI. Prime Minister Mark Carney dodged a direct answer this week on whether a 50% plus one vote in a Quebec referendum would be enough to. Recognize sovereignty. At a press conference, he got pressed twice on the hypothetical of Quebecers barely voting yes to separate from Canada, but he sidesteped at both times. Instead, Carney stressed cooperative federalism with Quebec and the provinces, saying they're working closely together. He pointed to the upcoming Quebec Provincial Election on October 5th as the place for clear answers, adding we live in a democracy and we'll wait for that. This echoes history from the 1995 referendum, where no one by just 50.58%, a razor-thin margin of about. 54,000 votes. Shaken, the federal liberals under Jean Crétien, passed the Clarity Act, demanding a clear majority on a clear question before any secession talks.

1:02Past leaders like Crétien and Justin Trudeau made a plane, 50% plus one, and enough to break up the country. Quebec Nationalists pushed back, insisting a simple majority works, and they've even got their own law saying so. Lately, support for sovereignty has taint to 29% amid economic worries, down from 37% before recent U.S. shifts. With liberals leading polls in Quebec and the PQ neck and neck provincially, this debate stays hot as election day nears.